Watch CBS News

Maccagnan Says He's Keeping Jets' Options Open In First Round Of NFL Draft

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- Up, down, sideways ... Mike Maccagnan will consider moving in all directions during the opening round of the NFL Draft.

The Jets' general manager told reporters on Friday all options are on the table as the team considers what to do with its first pick, No. 6 overall.

"We're going to reach out to every team ahead of us to kind of just gauge to get a value on what they're looking for in compensation," Maccagnan said.

Hired shortly after John Idzik was fired following the Jets' 4-12 season in 2014, Maccagnan has been quite thorough in his approach and execution this offseason. He pulled off a big trade for an impact offensive player and then spent a ton of money during free agency as the Jets created a buzz among their fans and inside the walls of the team's headquarters in Florham Park, New Jersey.

As far as the draft goes, the Jets have been linked to Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota, a player who has his share of believers and detractors. Maccagnan has been understandably non-committal about what he will do should Mariota be available when the Jets pick in the first round.

However, even though he said he will call around about potential costs of moving up, "That doesn't mean we're actually trying to go up and get a player," Maccagnan said.

"But you hear what the market value is basically, and then what you do is see what unfolds with the first few picks and who is available. We'll have that discussion when we get to the draft -- if we want to move up in the draft."

The Jets currently have just six picks in this draft -- their first four and two seventh-rounders -- due to the Percy Harvin trade from last season, which ended up with them giving Seattle a sixth-rounder, and the acquisition of veteran receiver Brandon Marshall from Chicago, which cost a fifth-rounder, but also brought back one in the seventh round.

Maccagnan said he'd like to add additional picks — which could come from trading down.

"Philosophically, I'm not opposed to moving up in the draft to go get a player if we feel that is the player who's going to be an extremely good player," Maccagnan said. "But, I would personally like to get more picks. To me, there's more opportunities to acquire more talent."

New York has around 285-290 players on its draft board, according to Maccagnan, after evaluating around 1,400 players over the last several months.

As mentioned before, the Jets were extremely active during the offseason, addressing several needs with veterans. In addition to acquiring Marshall, they traded for quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick, re-signed linebacker David Harris and guard Willie Colon, and then rebuilt their secondary in free agency by signing cornerbacks Darrelle Revis, Antonio Cromartie and Buster Skrine, and safety Marcus Gilchrist.

New York also added veteran depth on its offensive line (James Carpenter, James Brewer, Corey Hilliard), defensive line (Stephen Bowen, Kevin Vickerson) and linebacker corps (Erin Henderson, Joe Mays and Jamari Lattimore). The Jets brought back running back Bilal Powell and signed former Patriots running back Stevan Ridley.

Maccagnan believes free agency is "a much smarter and, quite frankly, more efficient way to fill needs," while the draft is more about taking the best player available.

"There's more uncertainty and risk," Maccagnan said of evaluating college players. "When you start factoring your needs into your player evaluations, you run the risk of skewing the process because it's a very subjective process. ... I tend to believe a lot of mistakes are made in the draft when teams factor in needs too much in the process."

Maccagnan added that when there are players of equal evaluations, only then might the team's roster need be used as a tiebreaker.

"But, it's one of those pet peeves, 'need' in the draft," he said. "I've seen a lot of mistakes made over the years, and that ends up being sort of one of the factors in it."

(TM and © Copyright 2015 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2015 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.